Water levels on the Danube River are expected to slowly rise 50 centimeters by the evening of September 21 as Hungary and other Central European countries deal with the aftermath of a heavy rain storm that has drenched the region.
Istvan Lang, the director-general of water management in Hungary, announced on September 20 that the burden on flood protections already put in place will be very significant.
“This is a very big flood, it will cause a lot stress,” he said on Hungarian television.
Ferry services on the Danube in Hungary have been halted, and water has spilled over the city’s lower quays in Budapest, threatening to reach tram and metro lines.
Lang said the worst of the flooding from the heavy rain will last longer than expected. The Danube is receding slower than anticipated due to the significant amount of rain that fell in Germany after the outbreak of Cyclone Boris, he added.
Danube Breaches Banks As Flood Tide Hits Budapest
Lang said the area south of Budapest will largely be safe from flooding thanks to major infrastructure improvements made in the region over time following a catastrophic flood in 1956, and the country's dams are in very good condition. The embankments south of Budapest are stronger and higher following improvements and will be able to better protect against the flood waters, he said.
Zoltan Gora, Hungary's national director-general of disaster prevention, confirmed that Budapest is protected up to a 9-meter water level. Forecasts indicate that the water will reach 8.5 meters or lower.
The capital’s water authorities have also assured residents that the drinking water supply will be safe. The government water-management body has closed drinking water reservoirs that were flooded by the Danube and added extra protection to those that have not yet been flooded.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony added that the sewerage system is especially vulnerable, warning citizens of possible pipe breaks and inconveniences.
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Swelling Danube Breaches Banks In Hungary
Flood protection has also been introduced along parts of the Danube in Serbia, the water-management authority in the Vojvodina region in the north of the country announced on September 20.
Regular flood defense measures have been implemented over 253 kilometers of the river, including on sections of the Danube embankment, from the state border with Hungary to the Kovilj area east of Novi Sad, as well as on structures of a hydroelectric power system and in rural parts.
The water-management authority in Vojvodina said that forecasts by the Hydrometeorological Institute of Serbia indicate that the Danube's water levels will rise in the coming days.
"The peak of the waves near Bezdan is expected on September 25, and near Novi Sad between September 27 and 28. Forecasts say the water level of the Danube near Novi Sad will be below the limits of emergency flood protection," the company points out.
In Romania, where the floodwaters have already wreaked havoc and dissipated, authorities said the latest tally shows six people died because of the flooding. In over 24 communities in the eastern region of Romania more than 20,000 inhabitants were affected by the floodwaters.
Residents in the worst-hit areas on the Danube in that country, Galati and Vaslui, have been cleaning up their mud-inundated homes.